Outside The Newport Bubble
by bobbiejod
Summary: Starts after episode, The Girlfriend, in Season 1. After seeing her father manhandle Ryan viciously, Kirsten agrees with Sandy to move them all to Berkeley. This is how they try to help Ryan adjust and how they eventually become a family. Next chapter up!
1. Story Preview

**AN: **This is just a little preview of the story that I'm thinking about posting here. Tell me if you think that I should and what you think about this basic premise.

**Summary:**

Starts around the episode, The Girlfriend, in Season 1. After seeing her father manhandle Ryan viciously, Kirsten agrees with Sandy to move them all to Berkeley. Sandy and Seth are both ecstatic to get out of Newport, while Kirsten and Ryan are both apprehensive. Kirsten and Sandy try to help Ryan come out of his shell and to overcome his abusive past. They encourage him to get involved in school and try to spend individual time with him.

* * *

**Extra Info:**

Rose Nichol is still alive and is a children's advocate; working with child services and other agencies. She meets Ryan at a foster care group home after he is found living by himself in his house after his mom dies. She gets Sandy involved with her plan to try to get Ryan removed from the home. An accident happens and Ryan goes to stay with the Cohen's.

Ryan tries to adjust to his new life, but no one in town makes it easy for him; especially not Julie Cooper or Caleb Nichol. After an incident with Caleb at their first face-to-face, Kirsten agrees with Sandy that they should all leave Newport and go back to Berkeley. Caleb is livid when he finds out, and tries to make it very difficult for them.

Ryan and Seth adjust quickly and make friends with a group of kids at school. Sandy has a difficult time finding a job and thinks Caleb is to blame. Kirsten decided to start her own business with the support of her family. The whole family needs to make adjustments; like cutting back on some things, trying to make and stay on a budget, and couponing.

**AN: **So what'd you think of this? Should I post this or not waste my time? Let me know in the reviews!


	2. Chapter 1: Introduction

**AN: **Here's the first chapter for you guys. Hope you like it. PLZ R&R!

**Disclaimer: **I own no one. They belong to Josh Schwartz and Fox.

**Chapter 1-Introduction**

Kirsten Cohen bustled into the kitchen holding plans for a housing development. They were approaching the deadline and they were far from finished. She saw her son at the counter slowly eating a bowl of Captain Crunch. She wished that he would talk to them more. She glanced at the table where her husband was eating a bagel and sipping his mug of coffee as he read through a thick file before him.

"Hey, sweetie." Kirsten greeted Seth.

"Mom," he glanced at her before returning to his cereal.

"Hey, honey." She went to her husband. "What are you working on?"

"A case that your mom recommended me for." He told her. "A kid from chino was found living in his home after his mother died. He was sent to a foster care group home, which is how your mother met him. He's been sent to 'the farm'."

"She told me about that place. A lot of 'accidents' have happened there. Why hasn't it been shut down yet?"

"There's never any proof. None of the kids who have gotten hurt are willing to make a statement."

"Sounds like you have your hands full." She stood up. "I have to get to work. Meet you for lunch?"

"Sorry. I'm going to meet Ryan."

"Well then, I'll see you tonight." she kissed Seth's cheek as he took his bowl to the sink. "Be good."

"See you, son." Sandy clapped him on the shoulders. "Don't just play video games all day."

"What else is there to do around here?" he mumbled as he went into the den and Sandy left the house.

* * *

Sandy pulled up the long dirt drive after the hour-long drive from Newport. He spotted Rose's car parked near the front door and parked beside it. He started out of the car and saw Rose approaching him.

"What's going on?" he asked her.

"They won't let us see Ryan." She informed him.

"Why not?"

"He's doing his chores."

"They're going to let us see him." Sandy marched up the porch steps and pounded on the door.

"We told your associate that he's doing his chores now." An older man came to the door.

"This is the designated time that we set up with the agency. So either you're going to let us see him now, or I will call the appropriate officials-"

"Fine, we'll call him to the house."

"If you don't mind, I think we'll talk with him outside. We don't need anyone eavesdropping after all." Sandy went with Rose to wait for Ryan to come find them.

A few minutes later, they saw a teenage boy approaching them. He was coming from the direction of the barn and had dirt smudged all over him. He slowly sat at the picnic table across from them and eyed them both wearily through guarded eyes.

"Hello, Ryan. It's good to see you again." Rose smiled at him. "This is my son-in-law, Sandy Cohen."

"Hey." Ryan mumbled. "You guys are wasting your time. No one can help me."

"What makes you say that, Ryan?" Sandy looked at him.

"I'm troubled." Ryan stated.

"Who told you that?"

"Everyone,"

"Why do they think you're troubled?" Rose asked him.

"Because I was living on my own for months without telling anyone, and no one will want to take me in because of it."

"Whoever said that is wrong," Rose told him. "I'm making it my personal mission to find a permanent placement for you."

"Good luck with that." Ryan mumbled as Sandy took out a folder.

* * *

Sandy returned to the house later that night with Ryan's file along with some more paperwork in his hands. He set it all on the counter as Seth came in. He silently got a drink of water and started out of the room again.

"Seth, what are you up to?" he asked him.

"Nothing." He mumbled.

"Son,"

"I'm busy." He stated as he walked into the den.

Sandy sighed deeply as he started in the direction of his bedroom in search of Kirsten. He found her sitting at the vanity and smiled at her as she looked up at him.

"Hey," she smiled at him. "How was it today?"

"I can't believe that this kid has such a negative life view." He sighed as he sat on the edge of the bed. "He's convinced himself that he's a bad catch just because everyone has told him so."

"Why would they tell him that?"

"He was living on his own for almost a year without letting anyone know." He stated.

"How did he get away with it?"

"He worked two jobs to pay the bills so that he could stay where he was. With his mom gone and both his dad and brother in jail for the long-term, he knew that he would get put into foster care."

"He has no other family?"

"None have come forward." He sighed. "Your mother has made it her mission to find him a permanent home."

"Sounds like mom," she sat next to him. "Let's take your mind off all of this. Let's order Pad Thai and all eat together tonight."

"Do you have to go into the office tomorrow?" he looked at her.

"No, I have the weekend off. Why do you ask?"

"What do you say that the three of us do something together tomorrow? We should get back to being a family."

"Sounds great." She smiled. "What do you have in mind?"

"I'm not sure yet. I'll figure it out." They both walked out and Kirsten placed their order for dinner.

"So how old is this kid?" Kirsten asked as she hung up the phone.

"Seth's age." He told her. "He doesn't have the greatest school records, but I don't think he had anyone telling him to get up in the morning. His mom was a train wreck."

"How did she die?"

"Alcohol poisoning mixed with drug overdose." He stated and she gasped. "I know. A kid shouldn't have to witness all that."

"Who are you talking about?" Seth came in to them.

"One of my clients."

"Oh right, that Ryan kid. Grandma told me about him."

"Yeah." Sandy got out some plates as the doorbell rang and Kirsten came back with their supper. "Maybe one of these days, I can take you to meet him. He's staying at 'the farm' right now, but if your grandmother can work her magic and get him out of there-"

"Is it bad there?"

"We think they only take in kids so they have workers to do chores."

They all sat down at the table and started to eat as Sandy continued to tell both Kirsten and Seth about Ryan. He saw that they both were really interested in what he told them about the kid that he was trying to help.

* * *

The next morning, Seth stumbled into the kitchen and saw his dad making up sandwiches and his mom was loading up a cooler that sat open on the counter.

"What's going on?" Seth asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

"We're all going to spend the day together." Kirsten informed him.

"All of us out in public?" he looked at them.

"Yes, and it's obligatory." Sandy informed him as the phone rang. "It's your mother, honey."

"This is family day." Kirsten looked at him.

"I'll let her know." He clicked it on. "Hey, Rose. No, I can't get together today. We planned a family day. Why are you there? What happened? Is he all right? Ok. I'll meet you there. Bye."

"It's family day," Kirsten repeated.

"It's an emergency. Ryan was taken to the hospital early this morning. There's been another 'accident' at 'the farm'."

"All right," Kirsten closed the cooler. "But we're coming with you."

"No, you don't want to come. Chino is a little rough."

"We're going." Seth told him as he grabbed the sandwiches that Sandy had just made. "Ryan needs actual food. Hospital food sucks."

"You're outnumbered," Kirsten told her husband. "Let's go."

* * *

Seth looked out his car window as they drove through Chino. It was a lot different from any other town that he had seen; it was definitely nothing like Newport. His dad pulled into a drive and parked near the emergency room entrance at the Chino Valley Medical Center. They all got out of the car as Sandy locked up the car and they all headed into the hospital.

"Mom," Kirsten spotted her talking to some official-looking people.

"What are you all doing here? I just needed Sandy." Rose hugged her.

"I told you it was family day," Sandy told her. "They refused to be left behind."

"It might actually be good that they're here. Ryan might talk to one of them."

"He's not talking?"

"Not at all."

"Where are the foster parents? What are they saying?"

"The foster parents are with social services. They claim that Ryan fell off a horse, but the doctor said that there was a blunt force to the back of his head."

"They intentionally hurt him?" Seth asked.

"That's what the evidence is pointing to." Rose told her grandson.

"May I ask who you are?" Sandy looked at the people with Rose.

"I'm Agent Wells," the man introduced himself and turned to the woman standing next to him. "This is Agent Monroe. We're with CPS."

"Are you taking Ryan away from his current family?"

"We're still investigating." Agent Monroe told him.

"But you should know that we want to get 'the farm' shut down as much as you do." Agent Wells told them.

"Anyone here for Ryan Atwood?" A doctor approached them.

"We all are," Rose stated. "How is he?"

"We did a CT scan and he has a slight concussion. We'd like him to stay here for a couple days to make sure that he's going to be ok."

"We'd like to take him home now," the man that Sandy had met the day before came out to them, followed by an older woman.

"You're not taking him anywhere until we find out what really happened to him." Two more officials came out to them.

"Sandy, this is Helen and Kathy." Rose introduced the women from social services.

"Nice to meet you." He shook their hands. "I hope it's all right if I go in and talk to Ryan when we get clearance."

"At this point, we'll try anything to get this kid to talk." Helen told him.

"We don't want you to worry," Kathy spoke up as she pointed to the foster parents. "The Miller's won't be allowed near Ryan."

"Thank you." Sandy told them.

"He fell off a horse," Mrs. Miller spoke up. "It was an accident."

"There seem to be a lot of accidents that happen at your residence."

"There were signs that his head hit something hard." Rose added.

"Mr. Atwood is sleeping now," the doctor spoke up. "I can come get you when he wakes up."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to sit with him." Sandy looked at the officials from social services and CPS. "I don't want any unwanted visitors near him."

"That will be fine, Mr. Cohen."

* * *

Ryan slowly surfaced through the thick fog surrounding him. He blinked his eyes open and looked around the brilliantly white room that he was in. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and turned his head sharply. He started moaning in pain as someone approached his bed.

"You shouldn't make any sudden movements with you having a concussion." He heard a familiar voice.

"Good to know," he mumbled as he finally focused on the visitor.

"You're going to be ok Ryan." Sandy Cohen told him. "But we need to know what happened to you."

"I already told them what happened."

"Your injuries don't back up your story."

"I don't know what to tell you. I can't help it if you don't believe me."

Sandy attempted to get Ryan to talk some more, but he remained stoic with his arms crossed in front of him. Sandy finally gave up and left the room. Ryan breathed a sigh of relief until the door opened and he saw Rose enter with a younger woman.

"Hello Ryan," Rose approached the bed. "This is my daughter Kirsten."

"It's nice to finally meet you Ryan," Kirsten smiled at him. "I feel like you're a part of the family with the way my mom and Sandy talk about you all the time."

"I have no family." Ryan stated as he watched them wearily. "One of them died, and the other two are locked up so they can't help me."

"Ryan, I told you that I'm working on getting you a permanent placement." Rose told him.

"And how is that going?" Ryan grumbled.

"Well-"

"I'm tired," Ryan turned his head away. "You can leave now."

Kirsten followed her mother out of the room in defeat. She spotted Sandy talking to the agents.

"Any luck?" he turned to them as they walked out of Ryan's room.

"None." Rose shook her head.

"Where's Seth?" Kirsten scanned the waiting room.

"He asked for the credit card and took off in the direction of the gift shop." Sandy told her.

"Why?"

"For reinforcements," Seth came back to them with his arms full of bags. "I knew you guys wouldn't get through to him."

"So what do you have there?" Rose asked him.

"Comic books, magazines, word search, crosswords, snacks…"

"I think it might work," Kirsten told them all. "Seth is the same age as Ryan. If anyone could get through to him, he could."

"Go for it son." Sandy told him and Seth grabbed a couple sandwiches and drinks from the cooler and started into Ryan's room.

**AN: **So what'd you all think of this? It will be a slightly slow start, but it will get better. So PLZ R&R!


	3. Chapter 2: Family?

**AN: **Another update for you guys. Hope you all like it. PLZ R&R!

**To Emily (Guest): **You have a very interesting idea there. Maybe you should try to write your own fanfic. Your dream sounds like it could be a very interesting story. I'm sorry to say that this story will be how I originally planned it. So the Cohen's will be moving out of Newport, and it will for the most part be a Cohen Plus 1 story. Thank you for your review though! Hope you enjoy how I end up writing this story.

**Disclaimer: **See first chapter.

**Chapter 2-Family?**

Ryan sighed as he heard the door open yet again. He pretended to be asleep as he heard things being set down on the nearby chair.

"I'm not interested in talking to you anymore." Ryan grumbled.

"The adults are out in the hall," he heard an unfamiliar voice and turned over to see a dark-haired kid with curly hair.

"Who are you?"

"Seth Cohen," he approached the bed. "You've already met my parents and grandma."

"Yeah," he mumbled.

"I know they can be a bit pushy," Seth placed the bags on the moving table and pushed it towards Ryan. "Just try growing up with them."

"What is all this?" Ryan watched him pull the items out of the bag.

"Hospital rooms are boring," he told him as he pulled a chair up to his bed. "So I took my dad's credit card and got you some things down in the gift shop."

"You didn't have to do this." Ryan slowly sat up.

"Sure I did." Seth told him. "I wasn't sure if you liked comics, but I do so I got you what they had available. There's also crosswords…"

"Thank you," Ryan said softly as he reached for the nearest magazine and unwrapped one of the sandwiches.

* * *

Sandy glanced into the room and saw Ryan nodding and smiling as Seth rambled on about something. Kirsten and Rose came up to him as he turned away.

"How's it going in there?" Rose asked.

"They're talking," he told them. "I'm not sure if he can get him to talk about the accident, but it's a start."

They all sat in the waiting room as the TV played a pointless program overhead. They looked up as the door to Ryan's room opened and Seth came out to them.

"Ok, he's ready." He informed them.

"Ready for what?" Sandy stood up.

"He's ready to talk to child services," Seth told them. "But he wants mom present while he does."

"What?"

"Why me?" Kirsten asked.

"Because you're not involved with the system." Seth told her. "He trusts you a little, but he's still apprehensive."

"I'll go get the agents," Rose walked away.

"Are you ready for this?" Sandy turned to his wife.

"I guess I better be." She saw the agents approaching and followed them into Ryan's room.

Kirsten approached Ryan as he sat nervously on the bed. He eyed the agents wearily as Rose came in as well.

"Are you sure that you want me in here?" Kirsten asked him.

"Yes. You're the only one, other than Seth, that I don't feel threatened by. I want you here."

"All right. I'll stay with you."

"Thank you." Ryan said softly as the agents opened up their notebooks.

"Ryan, we just need your recollection of today's events." One of the agents told him.

"I know how this works. I've been through it before."

* * *

Sandy and Seth remained in the waiting room as Rose joined CPS as well. They sat restlessly in the chairs as they tried to occupy themselves.

"So what's going to happen to him now?" Seth looked over at his dad.

"He'll be put back into the system. They'll probably find a group home for him while your grandmother finds him a permanent placement."

"Do you think she will?"

"She's very determined, but I wouldn't get my hopes up."

"Do you think-"

"Don't say it." Sandy stopped him. "I don't think your mother would go for it."

Forty-five minutes later the door opened and Kirsten came out to them. She approached them and sat in the seat beside Sandy.

"How'd it go?" he asked as he took her hand.

"I can't believe that kid went through all that." She told them.

"Was it that bad?"

"Bad enough." She sighed. "It wasn't his first visit to 'the farm'. One of the other occupants set his sights on him from the moment that he arrived there."

"So how'd he get hurt?" Seth asked.

"He was ambushed as he was walking into the barn to start his chores."

"All right," the agents came out of the room with Rose. "We'll be taking the Miller's into custody and shutting down 'the farm'."

"What about all the other kids?" Sandy asked.

"We'll find placements for them."

"What about Ryan?" Seth asks.

"We'll take custody of him for now and find a place for him when he gets out of here."

"Family meeting," Kirsten stated loudly as she pulled her husband, son, and mother into a huddle.

"What's the matter?" Rose asked her daughter.

"I think it will do more harm if Ryan is put into foster care."

"So what are you suggesting?" Sandy looked at her.

"Ok. I know that it's crazy…"

"Are we going to let Ryan stay with us?" Seth asked hopeful.

"Maybe," Kirsten looked at Sandy.

"You're serious? You want to take him in when you don't know all that much about him?"

"I told you it was crazy."

"I'm all for it." Seth spoke up.

"I'm on board," Rose added. "I think he'd do well in your home."

"We need to really think about this." Sandy told them. "We need to talk to the right authorities and see what child services say."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Seth asked.

"Calm down," Rose told her grandson. "Your parents need to do this by the book."

"We need to talk to Ryan about this." Sandy told them all.

"Um, excuse me." One of the agents got their attention. "May I just say that you have a really good chance of getting custody of Ryan."

"You really think so?" Kirsten looked at him.

"You live in an excellent neighborhood, you're pillars of the community…."

"I think I know some people that could help us push things along." Sandy took out his phone and dialed.

"I'm going to go break the good news to Ryan." Seth rushed back into Ryan's room.

"Do you really think your friends would want to help us?" Kirsten looked at Sandy.

"My friends owe me some favors." Sandy turned his attention back to the phone. "Yes Michelle, this is Sandy Cohen. I was hoping you could help me with something."

* * *

Ryan worked fast as he got changed back into his street clothes and grabbed all of his belongings. He knew that it was only a matter of time before child services came back in for him and put him in another home. He couldn't go through that again. He started for the door as it opened and Seth came in.

"Hey, man. I have awesome news-" Seth spotted the back pack slung over Ryan's shoulder as he froze on the spot. "What are you doing?"

"Just get out of the way, Seth." He told him.

"You're running away?"

"So what if I am?"

"Why would you do that?"

"I'm not going back into the system. You don't know what it's like. I can't go back into foster care again."

"You're right. You're not going back into the system." Kirsten appeared behind Seth.

"Mrs. Cohen? What are you doing in here?" Ryan looked back at her.

"Running away never solves anything."

"It does when the alternative is a dead end life."

"You are not going to run away. Do you hear me?" Kirsten went to him and took his bag from him. "And you can call me Kirsten."

"What else am I supposed to do?" Ryan demanded. "Nobody wants me."

"We want you. Come home with us."

"What for?"

"Dude, we have awesome news." Seth speaks up as Kirsten leads Ryan back to the bed.

"What 'awesome' news do you have for me?" Ryan mumbled as Kirsten got him back on the bed.

"We want you to come live with us." Kirsten told him. "Sandy's making some calls right now."

"Why would you want to do that? You don't know anything about me."

"We'll get to know you."

"But I'm damaged."

"I don't care what anyone has told you. You are not damaged."

"Good news," Sandy came into the room. "Going somewhere, Ryan?"

"I was leaving." He mumbled.

"He was running away." Kirsten told him.

"Well I hope you want to stay." Sandy smiled at him. "Because we want you stay with us very much."

"Did you hear back from your friends?" Kirsten looked at him.

"They're drawing up the papers right now and they should be here by morning."

"What exactly does that mean?" Seth spoke up.

"It will mean that once we sign them we will be Ryan's legal guardians."

"No one can take me from you?" Ryan asked softly.

"We won't let anyone put you back in a foster home."

By the next morning, Ryan was in the back of the Cohen's car heading towards Newport.

**AN: **So what'd you all think? Hope you liked it. PLZ R&R!


	4. Chapter 3: Cohen Home

**AN: **Another update for you guys. Hope you all like it. I'm working on the next chapter now. PLZ R&R!

**Disclaimer: **See first chapter.

**Chapter 3-Cohen Home**

Ryan slowly climbed into the back of the Cohen's Range Rover as his meager belongings were situated in the very back. He couldn't believe that all this was happening. Why would these practical strangers want to take in a troubled teenager? They already had a son of their own that wasn't messed up like he was.

It all happened within a matter of a few hours; all thanks to Sandy, Rose, and all their contacts. CPS and social services interviewed him and all the Cohen's individually to determine if it would be the right environment for him. Ryan reluctantly agreed to it; after all it couldn't be any worse than where he's been.

"I know this is all a little overwhelming for you kid," Sandy turned around to look at him from the driver's seat. "Once we get home, we'll get you settled in and you can explore the town a little."

Ryan nods at him as Kirsten climbed in the front passenger seat and Seth climbed into the back next to him. Seth handed him one of the comic books and they all settled in as Sandy pulled out of the hospital parking lot. Ryan put the comic book aside as they crossed the city limits into Newport.

Ryan watched out the window as they drove along the beach. They pulled into a subdivision and stopped to talk to the security guard at the guard house. They drove a little further and pulled up a slanted driveway.

"Here we are, Ryan." Kirsten smiled back at him.

"This is your house?" Ryan looked over at Seth.

"Technically, it's my grandpa's house. He builds them. He gave it to us when we moved back to town."

"Come on," Kirsten got out of the car and started to open Ryan's door to assist him. "Let us show you your room."

"Just to warn you, she may have gone slightly overboard." Seth told him. "Maybe more than slightly."

Ryan followed them in and looked around in awe. A Hispanic lady came out and Sandy introduced her as the housekeeper, Rosa. They led him up the narrow staircase and Seth pointed out his room as they passed it to get to Ryan's new room.

"Here we go," Kirsten opened the door and they led Ryan in.

The room was painted a dark blue with a few pictures of sunsets hanging up on the walls. The bed was positioned in the middle of the room with the headboard against the wall. There was a dresser in the one corner by the window, and a desk in the other corner. There was a collection of items strewn across the bed as Kirsten pulled him into the room further.

"We got you a few things to help you feel at home," Kirsten smiled at him. "There's some clothes you can try on, we got you a toothbrush and a razor, Seth gave you his old IPod and his PSP with some games…"

"Th-Thanks," Ryan mumbled.

"We'll leave you alone now," Sandy spoke up. "Give you a chance to get settled in. We'll order some lunch and call you when it's here."

Ryan watched the three of them walk out of the room as Kirsten closed the door behind them. He set his bag of meager belongings down and looked around. He slowly sat on the edge of the bed and glanced at the items on the bed before turning away from them and just stared out the window at nothing.

* * *

Ryan slowly came downstairs after he heard Sandy call for him. He found the kitchen and walked in to see the three of them setting food out on the table.

"Come on in, Ryan." Sandy spotted him just standing in the doorway watching them. "I hope you like Chinese."

"I guess," he shrugged as he slowly walked towards them.

"Grab a seat," Kirsten smiled at him and he sat across from Seth with Sandy and Kirsten at each end.

Lunch was more than awkward for them all, but especially for Ryan. He had never had any kind of family dinner before that day that he could remember. Seth rambled throughout lunch to take some of the attention away from Ryan. Kirsten kept an eye on Ryan throughout the meal, noticing that he just pushed his food around his plate and barely taking any bites.

After they finished eating, Ryan silently helped them pack up the leftovers and then joined Seth in the den so they could play video games. Kirsten listened to the sounds of video game play as she moved around the kitchen. The phone rang and she picked it up off the base.

"Hey, Mom." she smiled into the phone. "Ryan's doing all right. We just finished lunch. I know it's going to take time. So why'd you really call? Oh my god. I completely forgot. I'll take care of it."

"What's going on?" Sandy walked in and heard the last part of her phone conversation.

"I forgot about the fundraiser tonight," she sighed.

"Oh no. What are you dragging me to?"

"Not just you." She looked towards the den. "Do we really expect Ryan to be thrown in with the Newpsies?"  
"I guess we have to." Sandy sprung into action and told the boys what was going on as Kirsten ran out to get them all something to wear that night.

* * *

Ryan climbed out of the car and followed behind the Cohen's as they all walked into the fancy hotel. He waited while they checked in and followed close behind Seth as they all walked into the ballroom. A group of ladies surrounded them and Sandy and Seth got Ryan away from them as they started talking with Kirsten.

"Just stick by us, kid." Sandy told him as they went to the refreshments.

Kirsten watched the three of them walk away as she was bombarded by all of the Newpsies. She hoped they would be able to get through this night for Ryan's sake.

"So who is that boy that's with you tonight?" Taryn asked her.

"His name is Ryan, and we decided to take him in."

"Where are his parents?"

"Where is he from?"

"He's from Chino," Rose appeared behind them. "And he's had a hard life. So I hope you'll make him feel welcome."

"Of course," They all dispersed and Kirsten turned to her mother.

"Thank you," Kirsten sighed.

"I know how those vultures can be. Especially that Julie Cooper." She glared across the room at the group of women as they watched Ryan.

"I just hope that Ryan will be able to get through the night," Kirsten sighed as she saw Seth sticking to his side.

"He'll be fine." Rose assured her. "Come on. I need to show you something."

Ryan walked out on the veranda to get away from all the snobs. Seth went to use the bathroom and someone stopped Sandy to talk 'legal issues' with him, leaving Ryan alone for the first time that night. He sat down on the steps leading out to the water fountain as he thought about the past few days.

This was all too much for him. He was living with a family that he barely knew and attending these snooty functions where all of the attendees looked down on him because of how he looked or where he was from. He knew he was lucky to be here in this town and living in a mansion. He would try to blend in as much as he could, but he knew that he didn't belong here. He never would.

"Hey," he turned to see a girl with waist-length light-colored hair come out and sit next to him.

"Hey," he turned back around.

"I haven't seen you around here before."

"I just got here." He mumbled. "Why are you even talking to me? I saw you earlier talking to the spokesman for Abercrombie & Fitch."

"You mean Luke."

"Must be."

"I'm Marissa, by the way."

"Not really interested in getting acquainted."

"There you are," the door opened again and someone else came out.

"Luke,"

"Everyone's asking where you are." He joined them both.

"I just needed some air." Marissa told him.

"Who is this?" he spotted Ryan.

"He's my new neighbor. He's living with the Cohen's."

"Oh right, the kid from Chino."

"Luke-"

"Well, aren't you?" Luke smirked over at him.

"So what if I am?" Ryan glared over at him. "What are you going to do about it?"

"People like you don't belong here." Luke stood up and towered over him and Ryan stood up to face him.

"Luke-"

"People like me?" Ryan repeated. "You mean someone who actually knows what it means to work for what you have instead of having everything just handed to them like you two?"

"Hey!" Marissa stood up beside her boyfriend. "I was trying to be nice."

"No you weren't." Ryan faced her. "You just wanted some juicey news to go in and share with your friends."

"What's going on out here?" Ryan turned around and saw Rose come out to them. "Would you two happen to be hassling my grandson?"

"We were just getting to know him." Luke offered.

"Ryan?" Rose looked at him.

"I came out here to get some fresh air and they came out here and started in on me." Ryan told her. "I could see right through their fakeness."

"Both of you leave him alone." Rose glared at the two teenagers. "Get inside and I will be telling both of your mothers."

They both walked back inside and Ryan sat back down on the steps and Rose sat down beside him. He wearily looked over at her as she attempted to start a conversation with him.

"How are you doing?"

"Is it over yet?"

"I know it's a little much to have to deal with on your first day here."

"These people don't know anything about the world out there. They're just worried about trying to get a new car out of their mommy and daddy."

"That may be true, but not all of them are like that."

"So far, that's only Seth. He can be a little much though."

"Yeah. He doesn't have an off switch."

"Hey," The door behind them opened and Seth and Sandy came out to them. "We figured this was where you decided to hide out."

"Not hiding. Taking a break." Ryan informed them.

"Are you ready to go?" Sandy asked him.

"Really? We can leave?"

"Kirsten's staying behind to help with the clean up. Rose will bring her home later. She said that we did our time, so we can go back home."

"Good," Ryan stood up and started to follow them out.

"I'll stop by tomorrow to see you all." Rose told them as they all walked back inside to tell Kirsten that they were leaving.

"You survived your first Newpsie event," Kirsten smiled at him.

"We'll see you at home later." Sandy told her and she nodded as they all walked out to the lobby.

The ride home was quiet. Ryan stayed silent in the back seat as Seth rambled on about something pointless again. They pulled up to the house and Ryan went inside and started upstairs. Seth started to ask him to play some more video games, but Sandy told him to give him his space.

Ryan changed into some sweats and climbed into his new bed and turned out the light. He couldn't fall asleep right away thinking about the events of the last day and a half. He eventually drifted off as Sandy made a point to check on him before he went off to his own room.

Tomorrow was another day and Ryan would need a lot of rest to deal with the events that would take place.

**AN: **So what'd you all think? I hope you liked this. I'm working on the next chapter, and it should start to get more interesting. I hope to post it next week, but I'm going away this weekend for some relaxation with some church friends. Anyway, PLZ R&R!


	5. Chapter 4: Family BBQ

**AN: **So I had an amazing and relaxing time on my trip this weekend. It felt so great to leave everything for a couple days and just have fun. But now it's back to reality, so I thought I would give you all a new chapter. This is where all the angst starts. Hope you like it. PLZ R&R!

**Disclaimer: **See first chapter.

**Chapter 4-Family BBQ**

If Ryan knew that the day would end like this, he would've just stayed in bed the whole day….

Ryan awoke early, but remained in bed until Kirsten came in to check on him. She walked into his room after briefly knocking on the door. She spotted him starting to sit up in bed.

"Good morning," she smiled at him. "I forbid Seth from coming up here to wake you up, but it's getting kind of late."

"Ok," Ryan got out of bed and followed her downstairs where Sandy and Seth were waiting for them.

"Help yourself to an assortment of breakfast cereals," Seth told him as he took his bowl to the sink. "I usually just eat what I can find. We don't let mom cook."

"Why?" Ryan sat at the counter with a bowl of Captain Crunch.

"Trust me, you don't want her to cook." Seth told him. "You'll be feeling the effects of it for about a week."

"I'm not that bad." Kirsten told them as they started in on her.

"I know how to cook," Ryan said softly. "I can teach you."

"That is a lost cause, kid." Sandy told him. "Besides, you don't have to do that."

"So I heard what happened outside the hotel last night." Kirsten looked at Ryan and he looked down at his cereal. "I assure you that I am not blaming you, and my mom has informed Marissa and Luke's parents."

"Hey, want to hang out in the pool today?" Seth broke the tension.

"Sure," Ryan shrugged as he finally looked up.

"I think I got you some swim trunks," Kirsten told him as he took his bowl to the sink. "If not, you can borrow some."

Ryan slowly started upstairs and Seth followed behind. Kirsten sighed as Sandy wrapped his arms around her.

"We knew this would be hard when we agreed to this," he told her. "It will just take some time for him to accept us as his new family."

"I know. You're right." She looked at him. "I just wish he would talk to us a little bit."

"He will. He just needs time."

Ryan found a pair of black swim trunks and pulled on a plain white t-shirt as well. He grabbed a beach towel before starting to head downstairs. The doorbell rang and Sandy came out to answer it and Ryan started to smile when he saw Rose until he saw the demanding-looking man standing behind her.

"Rose, come on in." Sandy smiled at her. "Caleb."

"I wanted to check to see how Ryan is after last night." Rose informed him. "Caleb got back early this morning."

"Grandpa," Seth bounded down the stairs.

"How's my favorite grandson doing?" Caleb smiled at him until he spotted Ryan just standing there. "You must be the new addition-"

"It's nice to meet you," Ryan walked the rest of the way down to them and offered his hand to Caleb, who hesitated as he gave him a steely gaze.

"Caleb, don't be like that." Rose admonished him. "Greet him like a human being."

"I don't think that's possible for him." Sandy mumbled.

"Sandy," Kirsten came out of the kitchen. "Dad, it's good to see you."

"Grandpa," Seth glared at him and turned to Ryan. "Come on. Let's go."

Ryan lowered his hand and followed Seth through the kitchen and outside to the patio. Kirsten turned on her father.

"What the hell was that about?" she demanded. "He was trying to be polite, and you couldn't even shake his hand."

"How long is he going to be here?" he grumbled.

"For the long haul," Rose informed him. "Sandy and Kirsten are his official legal guardians."

"What? How could you put Seth in danger like that?"

"How is he in danger?" Kirsten asked. "By putting him around someone who has a good head on his shoulders? Who worked two jobs so that he could keep his mom's house after she died just so he could stay out of foster care?"

"The main thing you should focus on, Cal, is that Ryan isn't going anywhere," Rose glared at her husband. "I promised Ryan that I would find him a permanent home. I will make it my mission to make sure that he's a part of this family permanently. So get used to it."

Ryan slowly floated in the pool as Seth continued to ramble next to him. He turned his head to look at him and spotted Sandy coming outside with a plate of raw meat heading towards the grill.

"I thought we could have a BBQ out here tonight!" Sandy called. "So one more hour then you have to get out of the pool."

"Got it!" Seth called.

"Your grandpa hates me." Ryan stated.

"He just doesn't know you." Seth assured you. "I'm sure he'll want to get to know you at supper."

"Maybe I don't want to get to know him." Ryan revealed. "He thinks he knows all about me without getting to know me."

"So prove him wrong." Seth told him.

* * *

Ryan changed into some decent clothes after he and Seth finally got out of the pool. He walked back downstairs and out onto the patio where Kirsten and Rose were setting plates out on the glass table and arranging the chairs around the table.

"Take a seat Ryan," Kirsten smiled at him as everyone else made their way back outside.

He took a seat next to Seth, which ended up being right across from Caleb. He avoided looking at him as he tried to concentrate on the steak in front of him.

"So Ryan," Caleb spoke up after getting a nudge from Rose. "Tell me about yourself."

"Why?" Ryan glared at him.

"I want to get to know you."

"No, you don't." Ryan stated. "You're only talking to me because I'm sure that either your daughter or your wife or both threatened you in some way."

"Ryan, try for us." Sandy told him. "Answer his question."

"Fine," Ryan sighed. "I'm from Chino. My mother is dead because of drugs and alcohol. Both my father and brother are in jail. My father for armed robbery, and my brother for grand theft auto. What do you think of that, Mr. Nichol?"

"Ryan," Rose sighed.

"What?" he grumbled. "I'm sick of people judging me based on what my family did or where I'm from. I didn't ask to have this life. I was just born into it."

"Why don't you boys go in and play some video games?" Sandy suggested and they left the table and walked into the house.

"Well, he opened up." Kirsten sighed. "You seem to always bring the angry side out of people, dad."

"What are you talking about?" Caleb looked at all of them. "He was very disrespectful right now."

"Maybe because of how he perceived you at first impression." Rose looked at him. "Ryan is family now. Accept that."

Ryan sat slumped on the couch in the den as Seth set up the Play Station and picked out a game. He came back to the couch and handed Ryan one of the controllers.

"I can't believe I just did that," Ryan mumbled as the game booted up.

"Don't worry about it." Seth told him.

"I just got so mad, and I don't know why."

"My grandfather has a tendency of bringing out that side of people." They both concentrated on the game as the adults brought everything inside.

* * *

A few hours later, Caleb and Rose were still there visiting with them. Kirsten took her mother into the master bedroom so they could talk, Sandy and Caleb were sitting outside in some patio chairs as they sat in an awkward silence, and Seth and Ryan continued to play video games in the den. Caleb looked towards the kitchen as he saw Ryan leave the den and walk towards the refrigerator.

"I'm going to get another drink." Caleb excused himself as he headed inside.

Ryan stood up from the couch to stretch his back as Seth decided to play a different game.

"I'm going to get a drink," he told him. "Do you want anything?"

"Bring some chips or something for us to snack on." Seth told him.

"Got it," Ryan made his way into the kitchen and headed towards the refrigerator.

He grabbed a couple bottles of drinks and turned around to find some chips in the pantry, but his path was blocked by Caleb.

"Mr. Nichol-" he started.

"I want to know what you're planning, boy." Caleb demanded.

"What-"

"My daughter and son-in-law may be fooled by your innocent act, but I'm not." Caleb grabbed his arm forcefully. "You're going to wait until you've gained their trust and then rob them blind, isn't that right?"

"Let me go!" Ryan struggled in his grasp, but he tightened his grip on his arm. "You're really hurting me!"

"Ryan, what's taking you so long?" Seth's voice traveled into them as he started into the kitchen. "What's going on?"

"It's nothing, Seth." Caleb tried to cover. "I was just having a little chat with Ryan here."

Seth surveyed the scene closer as he saw Ryan's frightened look as his arm was still grasped in his grandfather's hand tightly.

"Mom! Dad! Grandma!" Seth yelled frantically as Caleb finally released Ryan's arm.

Sandy was the first to rush inside, with Kirsten and Rose rushing in from the Master bedroom.

"What's the matter?" Sandy demanded.

"Grandpa was manhandling Ryan." Seth informed them.

"What?!" Rose exclaimed and Kirsten went to Ryan as she felt him shaking. "Cal, how could you?"

"It's a misunderstanding, is all." Caleb tried to defend himself.

"Then why does Ryan look so frightened?" Sandy asked as Kirsten led Ryan out onto the patio with Seth following.

"Are you ok?" Kirsten made Ryan sit down in one of the chairs.

"I think so." He said softly as Seth stayed nearby.

"Seth, stay out here with him while I get rid of your grandfather." He nodded as she went back into the house and he sat across from Ryan.

"Are you ok, man?" Seth asked softly.

"I didn't do anything," Ryan said softly.

"I believe you," Seth assured him. "I know how he can be."

Kirsten stormed back into the house as Sandy and her mother continued to yell at her father.

"How could you do that dad?" Kirsten faced him. "He has been verbally and physically abused his whole life. He shouldn't have to deal with it anymore."

"Kiki-"

"I don't want to hear it. We are done."

"Mom? Dad?" they turned around when they heard Seth's voice.

"I thought I told you to stay out there with Ryan." Kirsten told him.

"Ryan needs ice," he informed them. "There's bruising on his arm."

"What?!" Rose glared at her husband.

"I'll go look at it." Sandy left to go outside with Seth as Kirsten turned back to her father.

"You are no longer welcome in this house." She told him. "The only communication that we will have will be at the office."

"You can't be serious," Caleb looked at his daughter.

"I am so serious. You physically hurt my son."

"Son?"

"Yes, son. He may have only been in this family for a short time, but he is our son now. You can leave now."

"Kiki-"

"I said leave!"

"We'll go," Rose led her husband from the room and Kirsten heard the front door open and close.

Kirsten made up a bag of ice and wrapped it in a towel before heading outside to where the boys were. She spotted Sandy trying to examine Ryan's arm, but he wouldn't let him anywhere near him.

"Come on, kid." Sandy coaxed. "I just want to look at it."

"No," Ryan shook his head.

"Why don't we go inside and I'll look at it?" Kirsten approached them.

Ryan glanced up at her and slowly nodded. She helped him up and led him into the house as Seth and Sandy followed behind. Kirsten sat Ryan at the counter and gently took his arm as she spotted the bruises in the shape of a handprint across his arm.

"Does it hurt any?" she asked him.

"Not really." Ryan said softly.

"Maybe we should take him to the emergency room." Sandy suggested.

"No," Ryan stated firmly. "I just got out of the hospital."

"It just looks bruised," Seth spoke up. "Maybe it'll be better in the morning."

"Keep this on your arm," Kirsten handed him the ice. "I'll call our doctor to see what he suggests."

Ryan held the ice on his arm as he watched Kirsten talk on the phone with their family doctor.

"All right. Thank you, doctor." Kirsten hung up the phone. "He said that if it looks like it's just bruised, we don't have to bring him in. But we need to keep an eye on him through the night to make sure that it doesn't get worse."

"So what now?" Ryan asked.

"Why don't we get you upstairs and into bed?" Kirsten helped Ryan up off the stool and led him upstairs as Seth and Sandy stayed behind.

"This is not going to help with all the issues he has." Seth spoke up.

"I know, son." Sandy sighed. "I know."

Kirsten waited out in the hall while Ryan got changed into some sweats. He opened the door to let her in and she followed him as he sat on the bed.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" she asked softly as she gently held the ice on his arm.

"I didn't do anything," he said again. "I was just getting a drink and snacks for me and Seth."

"Go on,"

"I turned around and he was just there-He accused me of fooling you all and then stealing from you once you let your guard down."

"Well, I don't believe that."

"You don't?" Ryan looked at her.

"Not for even a minute." She assured him. "I'll go find you some Tylenol to help with your arm because I know you're starting to feel a little pain, and then you need to get some rest."

Ryan nodded as she left the room and returned with a couple pills and a glass of water. He quickly swallowed them down and slowly lay back on the bed as she covered him.

"Try not to sleep on that arm," she told him and he nodded.

Kirsten left the room and descended the stairs; she found Seth and Sandy waiting for her in the kitchen still. They both leapt up from the counter as she came in.

"How is he?" Sandy asked her.

"He's fine. He's settled into bed right now." She told them.

"So what's going to happen?" Seth asked.

"Your father and I need to discuss some things," Kirsten ignored the question. "You can stay up for another hour, but then you need to get to bed as well."

Seth watched as his parents left the room, heading for their bedroom. He sighed deeply, knowing that things would never be the same, also knowing that Ryan blamed himself for all of it.

* * *

Sandy sat on the bed and watched as his wife paced the room shouting out profanities at her father as she did so. He wanted to do the same, but one of them had to keep their cool. After fifteen minutes, he stood up and held her in his arms tightly.

"It's ok," he assured her. "Just so you know, I feel the same way that you do. Maybe I feel a little more anger, but you know that I've never gotten along with your father."

"He manhandled Ryan so badly that he left bruises on him," Kirsten stated. "He's a teenager-Seth's age-if he can do that to Ryan, he might do it to Seth."

"I know, honey."

"So what are we going to do about this?" Kirsten turned around to look at him. "I don't want my father anywhere near Ryan."

"Didn't you already ban him from the house and your life?"

"You really think that's going to stop him?"

"All right, so what do you suggest?"

"It's crazy," she started. "My mom will be really upset for sure, but we have to make sure that Ryan is safe now."

"Ok, what's your idea?"

* * *

Sandy and Kirsten were lying in bed a few hours later after talking about Kirsten's idea to get Ryan out of danger. Sandy was excited to get it started, but he knew that Kirsten was right; her mother would be upset. They just had to ease everyone into the news.

"So you're really sure?" Sandy glanced at her.

"I haven't been happy for awhile, so I think this will be a great thing for the four of us."

"Then I'll start making all the right calls in the morning."

**AN: **So what'd you all think? Are you intrigued? I hope you liked this. PLZ R&R!


	6. Chapter 5: Social Visit

**AN: **Two updates in one week! I'm trying to stay on a set schedule with everything, including finding enough time to write each day so that I can still stay on schedule to post regular updates. Anyway, I hope you like this update. PLZ R&R!

**Disclaimer: **See first chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Social Visit**

Sandy and Kirsten were up early making all the necessary calls to set their plans in motion. Sandy called Ryan's social worker to see what they had to do regarding the incident with Caleb. He slowly hung up and informed Kirsten what she said.

"I guess we need to tell Ryan," Kirsten sighed.

A couple hours later, they heard footsteps and saw Ryan and Seth coming down to get some breakfast. Ryan barely glanced at them as he sat at the counter and Seth brought over some cereal, bowls, spoons, and got the milk out for them.

"How's your arm feeling, Ryan?" Sandy asked him.

"Fine," he shrugged as he shoveled a big spoonful of cereal into his mouth. "So why do you look like that? Do you have bad news?"

"We have interesting news." Kirsten told him as he finished his cereal.

"What is it?" he looked at her.

"Because of what happened last night, as your legal guardians we're obligated to inform your social worker about it."

"What'd she say?" Ryan asked softly.

"She'll be here in about an hour to have a meeting with all of us." Sandy informed him.

"So does that mean that I have to leave?" Ryan asked them.

"Not at all," Kirsten assured him. "She just wants to know what happened and why, and she wants to make sure that we take steps so that something like that doesn't happen again."

"You're sure?" he eyed them.

"Positive. Now if you're done with breakfast, go on up and get ready."

"Sure," he started up the stairs, but Seth stayed behind.

"You're absolutely sure that they won't take Ryan away?" Seth asked them. "Things are just starting to get interesting with him here."

"She just wants to talk to us," Sandy told him.

"You better not be lying to us," Seth said as he walked out of the room.

* * *

A couple hours later, they were all sitting in the kitchen waiting for the social worker to show up. The doorbell rang and Sandy went to go answer it; he came back in a few minutes later with Ryan's social worker, Gloria.

"It's nice to see you again, Ryan." She smiled at him as he slowly stood up from the kitchen stool.

"Hi," he said softly.

"There's nothing to worry about," Gloria assured him. "I just want to make sure that something like this doesn't happen again."

"Ryan, why don't you go wait in the living room?" Kirsten told him.

"Sure," he slowly walked out of the room and sat on the couch next to Seth as the conversation started in the kitchen.

Gloria listened as both Sandy and Kirsten told her their versions of the night before. She scribbled on a notepad as they finished talking and stared at them across the table.

"Well this certainly doesn't help any of the issues that he has," she told them. "I assume that he's more comfortable and open when he's around Mrs. Cohen."

"Yes, I have noticed that." Sandy spoke up.

"Try not to take it personally," Gloria looked at him. "He hasn't had the best experience with male authority."

"You mean his foster parents?" Kirsten asked.

"Along with the many boyfriends that his mom had, and his father as well. So you will have your hands full with him."

"We're prepared."

"Good because Ryan deserves to have something good in his life. Having a stable life is in the right direction."

"We agree." Sandy nodded.

"All right." Gloria looked up at them. "I would like to talk to Ryan in private now. After I'm done, I'll call you back in and we'll come to a solution about his current environment."

"I'll go get him," Kirsten left the room and returned with Ryan.

"Ryan, I'm going to ask Sandy and Kirsten to leave the room so that we can talk privately. Is that ok?"

"Sure," he shrugged as he watched them leave the room and he sat across from Gloria at the table.

"So tell me what happened last night as you remember it," Gloria started and Ryan slowly told her how his first meeting with Caleb Nichol went.

Gloria listened to every detail and scribbled on her notepad. Ryan stopped talking and watched Gloria. She asked to examine his arm and took note when he winced when she touched the bruising. She dismissed him from the room and called Sandy and Kirsten back in.

"We want him to be safe in this environment," Gloria started as they both sat down again. "And if he continues to be around Mr. Nichol, I don't see that happening."

"We agree." Kirsten told her. "My father will not be around Ryan."

"We talked about it all last night," Sandy stated. "And we think we came up with a solution."

* * *

Ryan sat numbly on the couch as the minutes dragged by. The Cohen's had been talking for a long time with Gloria. He looked up as the three of them walked out of the kitchen and Sandy led her to the door.

"I'll check in with you in a few days to check on your progress," Gloria told them. "If there are any problems, just let me know."

"Thank you," Sandy shut the door behind her and saw the look that Ryan was giving them.

"What'd she say?"

"Why don't we talk in the kitchen," Sandy told him. "I'll go get Seth."

"I-Is everything ok?" Ryan looked at Kirsten as she led him into the kitchen. "Am I staying here?"

"Is he?" Seth came from upstairs, where he had been holed up in his room while the social worker was there.

"Let's all sit down," Sandy told them and they sat at the table.

"First, Ryan will be staying." Kirsten started. "Gloria agrees that this is a stable environment for you."

"There's something else." Ryan saw the looks they were giving them.

"Well, Gloria also said that you shouldn't be around Caleb."

"So how will that work?" Seth asked. "Will we leave town whenever he's in town?"

"No," Sandy told them. "We talked all through the night and we've come up with the perfect solution so that your grandfather won't be around Ryan."

"What is it?"

"We have made the decision to move back to Berkeley."

"You're serious?" Seth looked at them. "We're leaving?"

"You used to live in Berkeley?" Ryan spoke up.

"We both went to college there," Kirsten told him. "When we graduated, we stayed there. We lived there until Seth was about six, and moved back here."

"Why'd you move back?"

"My mom got sick and we came back to be close to her."

"Miss Rose was sick? How sick was she?"

"She had cancer."

"But she's ok now right?"

"She is completely healthy now," Sandy assured him. "She's in remission."

"When she was out of the woods, she decided that she wanted to make a difference." Kirsten told him. "That's why she became a children's advocate, so she could help kids like you."

"But we're really moving?" Seth spoke up. "Seriously?"

"Is that all right with you?" Sandy looked at him.

"Hell, yeah. Sorry."

"Ryan? What do you think?" Kirsten asked.

"I don't know. I mean-are you doing this just because of me? Because of what happened last night?"

"It's not just because of what happened last night." Sandy assured him.

"Honestly, I haven't been happy for a long time." Kirsten told him. "I just brushed it off because I wanted to stay close to my mom now."

"What weren't you happy about?" Ryan asked.

"My work. Yes, I was great at what I did and I made a hefty income, but I wasn't happy."

"So what are you going to do now?" Seth inquired.

"I'm not really sure, but I will figure it out when we move to Berkeley while trying to be a stay at home mom."

"You really think you can do that?"

"I'm going to try." She smiled at them.

"But this is because of me, isn't it?" Ryan spoke up.

"No, it's not." Kirsten assured him. "The events of last night just finally made me come to a decision."

"You're sure it's not my fault?" Ryan ventured.

"We promise," Sandy told him. "We do have a lot of work to do, but we can wait until tomorrow."

"But we are not going to tell anyone in case someone tries to stop us."

"You mean grandpa?" Seth asked.

"Yes," Kirsten told them. "I will tell your grandma because I know we can trust her, but no one else will know until we've left town."

They all agreed as they started to get excited about the prospect of starting over in a new town away from all the Newpsies.

* * *

Rose stopped by late in the afternoon to check and see how everyone was doing. Kirsten and Sandy opened the door and she saw they were a little weary about letting her in.

"Mom-" Kirsten started.

"Don't worry, your father isn't with me." She told them. "He left late last night for another business trip."

"Where to this time?" Sandy asked.

"Somewhere overseas. He said he'll be gone for awhile."

"Good," Sandy commented. "At least he won't try to sabotage our plans from overseas."

"What plans?" Rose asked them.

"Come in, mom." Kirsten shut the door behind her. "We have some big news for you."

"What's going on?" she followed them into the kitchen. "Is Ryan all right?"

"Ryan is fine." Sandy assured her. "His social worker, Gloria, came by earlier to talk to us about everything."

"Is she taking him away from you guys?"

"No. She agrees that this is the best environment for him right now."

"So then what's the problem?" Rose sat with them at the table.

"Gloria doesn't want Ryan around dad." Kirsten told her. "She's afraid that he'll get hurt again, and then we won't be able to get him to relax and accept us as his family."

"How will that work?"

"Well, we were up half the night talking about a solution," Sandy told her. "Gloria agreed with us. She thinks that it's a great idea."

"So what's the plan to keep Caleb away from Ryan?" Rose saw how they were nervous to tell her.

"We've decided to move back to Berkeley." Kirsten revealed.

"What?"

"Sandy has contacts in the PD's office, and he has friends that can get him a job." Kirsten told her. "As much as I'll miss you, I think this is the only safest solution for Ryan."

"And you've really thought all this through?" Rose looked at them both.

"Yes," Sandy assured her.

"Mom, I haven't been happy for awhile." Kirsten revealed to her. "As much as I tried to bury myself in my work, nothing seemed to help. I was also drifting apart from Sandy and Seth was beginning to seem like a stranger to me. If I have to sacrifice something, I don't want it to be my family. Especially now that Ryan has come into our lives."

"I understand," Rose hugged her daughter. "I'll help you in any way that I can."

"The most important way that you can help is to not tell dad."

"We think that if he finds out that we're moving, that he'll do everything he can to stop us." Sandy told her.

"Yes, he would." Rose nodded. "All right. I won't tell him. And I'll also keep his so-called associates out of your business. I heard him on the phone last night talking to a private investigator. He's trying to dig into Ryan's past."

"We figured as much," Sandy sighed. "Thank you, Rose. We know this is putting you in a difficult position."

"Don't worry about it," Rose stood up. "I'm going to go see what the boys are up to."

"Well, I'm glad that she's helping us." Sandy sighed as they watched her start up the stairs.

"Me, too." Kirsten looked at him. "Now we need to start on all the moving plans."

"Tomorrow." Sandy took her hand. "Let's have the rest of today for us, and then we'll start on all the stress of moving our family eight hours away."

"You're right." She smiled at him. "We'll start on everything tomorrow."

**AN: **So what'd you all think? I hope you liked it. It's slow coming right now, but I promise you that it will get better. Anyway, PLZ R&R!


	7. Chapter 6: Getting Started

**AN: **Another update for you guys. Hope you like this. Thank you everyone for the really great reviews. PLZ R&R!

**Disclaimer: **See first chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Getting Started**

Kirsten was rushing around the kitchen; she had been making lists for days. The lists seemed to get longer as she added to it every day. Everyone started packing up the house as the days turned into weeks and soon there was only a month left until they were set to make the move officially. Kirsten took care of transferring everything and retrieving all of Seth's and Ryan's records, and Sandy was dealing with social services and getting clearance to move Ryan out of town.

* * *

Kirsten was going through everything in the kitchen; deciding what would go with them to Berkeley, and what would be put into storage. Sandy was up at his office taking care of some official business involving Ryan. Seth and Ryan were supposed to be packing the upstairs, but she had a feeling that Ryan was doing the majority of the work. The doorbell rang and Kirsten maneuvered her way through the maze of boxes and opened the door.

"Julie," she sighed as she saw her standing in front of her with a fake smile plastered on her face.

"Kirsten," Julie spotted all the boxes behind Kirsten. "What's going on here? Are you guys-moving?"

"Not at all," Kirsten told her. "We're just doing a little cleaning. Giving some things to charity."

"Speaking of charity, there's an event coming up next month-"

"I'm sorry Julie, I can't help with this one." Kirsten interrupted her. "We'll be taking a family vacation."

"Oh, that's nice."

"Kirsten, I got another one." Ryan came downstairs and put the box he was carrying on top of another one. "Don't worry, this one is labeled."

"Thank you, Ryan." She turned around and smiled at him. "What's Seth doing?"

"Being lazy," he mumbled as he spotted the guest standing in the doorway. "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

"You're not interrupting," Kirsten told him. "Ryan, this is Julie Cooper. She lives next door. I believe you met her daughter the other night."

"Oh, right. Marissa, the spoiled princess." Ryan mumbled.

"Excuse me?" Julie glared at him. "What did you just say about my daughter?"

"I think you heard him perfectly." Kirsten told her. "I believe my mother informed you about what went on the other night."

"Like I believe for one minute that my daughter would be mixed up with someone like him."

"Ryan, go on and try to get Seth to help you pack up some more. I'll get rid of our unwanted guest here."

"All right," Ryan went back upstairs as Kirsten turned to face Julie again.

"Unwanted guest?" Julie demanded.

"I don't remember inviting you over, and I won't have anyone insulting my son."

"I didn't say a word about Seth."

"I'm talking about Ryan. He's my son, too."

"You've known him for only a few days. He's bad news. You should just put him back into the system."

"And maybe you should put your daughter in a rehab program with all the alcohol she knocks back every day." Kirsten glared at her. "But you don't have to worry. You won't have to deal with Ryan for much longer."

Kirsten slammed the door in Julie's face and went in search of Ryan. She found him out in the hall between his and Seth's room packing up another box.

"Are you ok?" she went to him. "Julie shouldn't have said those things to you."

"It's not like I'm not used to it," he shrugged. "Are we taking all this?"

"Yes, and you shouldn't be used to people talking to you like that." Ryan shrugged as Seth came out of his room with a box.

"Can we take a break yet?" Seth mumbled.

"You've barely done anything," Kirsten looked at him. "If anyone deserves to have a break, it's Ryan. He's been packing and organizing since this morning."

* * *

Sandy arrived home with a thick packet of paperwork from his associates. He found Kirsten and Ryan packing up the kitchen with some help from Rose.

"Hey," he greeted them. "How's the packing going?"

"I think we're almost halfway done," Kirsten greeted him with a kiss on the cheek. "We'd be farther along if your other son was more help."

"I'll talk to him."

"It can wait for now," Kirsten told him. "So how'd work go?"

"Everything is all taken care of." He told them.

"So that means-" Ryan spotted the pile of paperwork that he set down on the counter.

"Basically, this is all a bunch of incomprehensible nonsense that in the end allows us to move you across the city limits."

"So we're all set then?" Kirsten asked him.

"All set," Sandy assured them.

"So I hope you don't mind," Rose spoke up. "But I called the former owners of the house. Just to see what appliances you would need."

"I still can't believe that our old house was on the market." Sandy said, remembering the day that Seth rushed into them with his laptop and showed them a real estate listing.

"Our timing was just right," Kirsten agreed, glad that they would be moving back into the house that she had loved so much. "Anyway, what were you saying mom?"

"Well, they told me that most of the appliances are furnished," she started to tell them what all she had found out about the house.

"I'm going to leave about a week beforehand," Sandy told them. "Just to get some things settled and to get the job situation figured out."

"There's still so much to do," Kirsten sighed.

"I'm here to help you," Rose told them.

"Is it time to eat yet?" Seth came in.

"Yes, but Ryan gets to pick tonight." Sandy told him. "Ryan is done helping for the day, but you get to pack up for the rest of the night."

"What?!"

"It's not fair for Ryan to do all the work while you just mess around in your room not doing any of the work."

"But-"

"You're onboard with the move, so that means that you need to do your fair share."

Seth grumbled as Kirsten opened the drawer of take-out menus and handed them to Ryan.

* * *

Kirsten was rushing around the kitchen one morning as her mom was helping Ryan and Seth pack up some things in the next room. Sandy had left the day before to go to Berkeley to get some things settled before they all arrived.

"I don't need to tell you why I need to transfer that much, you just need to do it." Rose came in as she heard Kirsten arguing on the phone. "No, don't put me on hold again. Dammit!"

"What's going on?" Rose asked her daughter.

"I'm trying to transfer our funds to our new bank in Berkeley, but they don't recommend that I transfer that much."

"I'll talk to them," Rose took the phone from her as she was taken off hold. "You need to do as my daughter asked of you."

"I also need to freeze the accounts," Kirsten told her. "So that dad can't do anything."

Rose continued to argue with the person on the other end as Ryan came in for a drink.

"How's it going in there?" Kirsten asked him.

"It's getting there," he shrugged.

"So you didn't tell me how yesterday went." Kirsten looked at him.

Yesterday morning before he left for Berkeley, Sandy had driven Ryan to Chino. He wanted to visit his brother in jail before he left town; to tell him good-bye.

"It went all right." Ryan mumbled.

"What'd Trey think of everything that you told him?"

"He said that one of us needed to break the Atwood bad luck. He was happy that I'm out of that life now."

"So do you think that you'll want to come back and see him sometime?"

"I'm not sure,"

"If you ever want to, you just let us know. We would have no problem bringing you out here to visit him."

"Maybe someday," Ryan revealed as he went back to help Seth.

"All taken care of," Rose hung up the phone. "The funds will be there when you get to Berkeley."

"Thanks, mom." Kirsten smiled at her as she went back to writing on a tablet of paper.

"What are you working on now?" Rose saw her daughter scribble something out and rewrite it.

"A letter for dad," Kirsten sighed. "I'm leaving one here and at the office."

"Your father doesn't deserve to be treated so well," Rose told her.

"I know, but maybe he'll read the letter." Kirsten sighed. "I still need to clean out my office too."

"I can go with you. That secretary that your father has-"

"I've never liked her either." Kirsten told her as Seth and Ryan took some more boxes to set out by the front door.

"Just a few more things," Seth told her. "We'll be ready to go early tomorrow."

"That's good," Kirsten smiled at them. "I think you both deserve a break, so why don't you order pizza while I go clean out my office, and we'll be back soon."

"Cool," Seth went to the phone as Kirsten and Rose started to leave.

"Don't be unpacking that Play Station while we're gone either." Kirsten told them as she followed her mom out to the car and they pulled away.

* * *

Kirsten went into her office with a couple boxes and started emptying out her desk and packing up all the framed photos that were on her desk. Her mother was helping her as someone came in behind them.

"Your father didn't tell me that you were coming in today," the secretary stated.

"He's still out of town, so he doesn't know that I needed some things to work from home." Kirsten told her.

"Beth, you can leave now." Rose stated. "And if I see you reaching for that phone to call and inform my husband about his daughter's every move, you can start packing up your things. I own the controlling share in this company, and have every right to fire you or anyone else that I think isn't up to par."

"Yes, ma'am." Beth left in a huff and Kirsten continued to pack up her things.

"Thanks, mom."

"I never liked that woman." Rose stated again as she saw Kirsten putting a letter addressed to Caleb in the middle of the desk.

"Me neither." Kirsten said as she unplugged the laptop and packed it up as well. "Ok, I think I got everything."

They walked out of the office, locking it up behind them, and went to the elevator and down to the parking garage. They arrived back at the house and walked in as Ryan was getting some plates out.

"We got one pepperoni, and one cheese." Seth told them.

"Perfect," Kirsten smiled at them.

"So tomorrow is the big day," Rose stated as they all sat at the counter since the table was covered with boxes. "Are you all ready?"

"I guess we'll find out." Seth told her. "Anywhere is better than the fake people in this town. No offense, grandma. I mean, you still have to live here."

"No offense taken," Rose smiled. "I will miss you all, but expect daily calls from me and constant packages sent to you."

They all finished their supper and packed up the last few items before going off to bed. Since all the beds were already taken apart, they all slept on the floor that night. They all eventually drifted into an uneasy sleep, anxious about what tomorrow would bring for them.

* * *

**AN: **So what'd you all think of this chapter? It should start getting interesting once they get to Berkeley. PLZ R&R!

I just signed up for Netflix today. Anyone have any good recommendations? Thanks!


	8. Chapter 7: Moving Day

**AN: **I'm so happy that so many people are reading this story. I was so worried that no one would like this with the other regular characters in it, but judging by all the wonderful reviews that I keep getting in my inbox I can tell that you all really like this. So here's a new chapter for you guys. Hope you all like this one. PLZ R&R!

**Disclaimer: **See first chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 7: Moving Day**

Ryan awoke early the next morning to noise outside of his room. He slowly sat up as the door opened and Kirsten appeared in the doorway.

"Time to get up," she smiled at him. "Today is the big day."

"I'm coming," he slowly got up from the floor, where he had slept on a pile of blankets the night before.

"We're not eating breakfast before we leave. We'll just stop at a gas station and grab something to go." She told him as he started folding up the blankets. "So do what you have to do, and come help us load up. The U-Haul should be here in a few minutes."

"Got it," Ryan went down the hall to the bathroom as she went back to Seth's room to make sure that he was actually getting up.

Ryan came downstairs and saw two guys in uniform lifting boxes and taking them outside. Ryan started to help them as Kirsten pulled Seth downstairs.

"Why are we starting so early?" Seth grumbled.

"We don't want a lot of people finding out," Kirsten reminded him. "If we only take one break, we should get to the new house by evening."

"Got it," Seth started loading up the U-Haul with Ryan as Kirsten double-checked everything.

An hour later, Ryan and Seth had back packs slung over their shoulders as they waited by the rover. Kirsten was writing out directions for the moving truck drivers as they saw Rose pull up the driveway.

"My husband will be there if you get there first," Kirsten told the driver as her mom approached her. "Mom, what are you doing here?"

"Saying good bye to my family," She told her. "And I brought you all coffee, bagels, snacks, and drinks for the road."

"Thank you," Kirsten put it all in the front seat.

"And I have something for the boys," she gave them each a plain, small box. "Hopefully they'll keep them occupied on the trip up there."

Seth and Ryan opened the packages and saw e-readers, along with gift cards to Amazon. They hugged and thanked her as Kirsten smiled at the sight.

"When you turn them on, there's a website that I bookmarked for you that offer free e-books every day." Rose told them. "You can download music and videos onto them too."

"Thank you, mom." Kirsten hugged her. "We'll call you tonight, and at least once a day."

"I'll be expecting it tonight." Rose hugged Seth next. "Try not to drive your parents too crazy."

"I wouldn't be a teenager if I didn't try to drive them crazy." Seth smiled at her as she hugged Ryan last.

"Give them a chance, Ryan." She whispered. "You all need each other."

"I'll miss you," Ryan told her earnestly.

"Come on, boys. We need to get going." Kirsten called and they climbed into the rover; Seth in the front seat, and Ryan in the back. "Mom, if anyone asks-"

"You're all on vacation," Rose interrupted her. "I'll cover for you as long as I can."

"We'll be getting new cell phones in a few days; ones without GPS tracking in them. I'll call you with the phone numbers."

"I understand," Rose smiled. "You better get going. You have a long day ahead of you with two teenagers in the car. Good luck with that."

"Thanks," Kirsten hugged her mom one last time.

Kirsten handed out coffee and bagels before starting the car and pulling down the driveway. Ryan turned around and waved to Rose and she waved back as she watched their car disappear down the road.

* * *

They had been driving for a few hours when Kirsten decided that they needed to stop for some lunch. She glanced at Seth and Ryan and saw them both sound asleep. She took her right hand and shook Seth, who was next to her in the front seat.

"Seth," she shook him again.

"What-" he slowly sat up and looked around.

"Are you getting hungry?"

"I'm always hungry." He told her.

"Ryan?" Kirsten raised her voice a little. "Are you hungry?"

"He can't hear you. I gave him my I Pod to listen to." Seth turned and shook Ryan, and he startled awake. "Sorry, dude."

"What's going on?" Ryan removed the ear buds.

"We were going to stop for lunch. Are you hungry?" Kirsten asked him.

"Yeah," Ryan sat up as Kirsten pulled into the parking lot of a Subway.

They all climbed out of the car and started inside. They all waited in line and took turns placing their orders. After they got their drinks, they all silently sat at a table and started eating.

"How long until we get to the house?" Seth asked.

"A couple hours, maybe more." Kirsten told him. "The movers should be there by the time we get there."

"What is there to do in Berkeley?" Ryan asked suddenly.

"There's quite a bit," Kirsten smiled at him.

"If I remember correctly, the marina is near our house." Seth spoke up.

"Ryan might not like sailing or surfing like you and your dad." Kirsten spoke up. "There are also art museums, libraries, outlet malls…"

Ryan silently listened to them tell him about all the sights of Berkeley and what they thought he would like to do. Seth was trying to convince him to go sailing with him since his little catamaran was on its way to the new house with the rest of their things.

"So have you been anywhere other than Chino Ryan?" Seth asked.

"I used to live in Fresno." Ryan said softly. "We moved to Chino when I was about eight or nine I think."

"Why'd you move?" Kirsten asked him.

"Well-My dad was arrested…"

"It's ok, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

The rest of lunch was spent in awkward silence as they finished eating and headed back out to the rover. This time, Ryan sat in the front and Seth climbed into the back seat. They both promptly fell back asleep within ten minutes of being on the road again.

* * *

Kirsten started getting drowsy as the trip was almost to a close. Her phone started to ring and she greeted Sandy on the other end.

"Hey honey," she heard Sandy's voice. "How are the boys?"

"They're both sound asleep," she told him. "How's it going at the house?"

"The U-Haul just got here. How long until you guys get here do you think?"

"According to the GPS, we have about another hour."

"All right," she heard Sandy sigh. "I'm going to help the movers unload the trucks. I'll see you guys soon."

Kirsten slowed down a little while later and pulled down a side street. Both Seth and Ryan slowly sat up and looked around.

"Are we there?" Seth asked.

"Almost," Kirsten told him.

They drove for a little longer until Kirsten slowed down and pulled into a driveway. Ryan saw Sandy unloading the U-Haul as they all climbed out of the car.

"Hey, you all made it." Sandy smiled at them. "We're just about done unloading here."

"Is my boat all right?" Seth rushed over.

"It's fine, son." Sandy assured him. "It's in the garage. We'll move it to the marina in a few days, and get all the permits and things."

Ryan walked to the U-Haul as Sandy greeted Kirsten with a tight hug. Ryan started to grab a box and took it into his new house.

"Are you all right?" Sandy looked down at Kirsten.

"I'm just exhausted," she sighed. "Almost seven hours of driving, plus we left so early."

"We'll get everything unloaded for now, just get the beds put together for tonight, and start on the unpacking tomorrow."

"Sounds good," they started into the house as the boys came back out to get more boxes.

"All right," Sandy came back into the house after tipping the movers and saw the sea of boxes. "For now since all the boxes are labeled, we'll just put the boxes in the rooms that they belong. All the bedrooms are upstairs. You guys go ahead and pick out your rooms."

"I want my old room," Seth grabbed a box and rushed upstairs, with Ryan following behind him.

* * *

Forty five minutes later, all the boxes were in the appropriate rooms. Ryan and Seth came into the kitchen as Kirsten was searching the boxes for something.

"Is there any food here or are we ordering pizza again?" Seth asked.

"There are a few things here, but we do need some more." Sandy took fifty dollars out of his wallet and handed it to Ryan. "Why don't you guys go find a grocery store and get us some things?"

"What kind of things?" Ryan asked.

"Just get the basics for now," Kirsten handed the keys to the rover to Seth. "Bread, milk, eggs, lunchmeat…"

"And if you guys want some snacks, get those also if you have any money left. You pick some things out too, Ryan."

They both left the house and they heard the rover start up and fade away. Sandy turned to Kirsten as she sighed in defeat.

"Honey, we'll find everything tomorrow." He assured her. "You need to relax and get some rest."

"I know," she sat down on one of the barstools at the counter.

"What else is going on?" he sat down beside her.

"I got a little taste of Ryan's life when we stopped for lunch. He said he used to live in Fresno?"

"Yeah, they moved once his father was sentenced."

"Do you know what he was accused of?"

"Armed robbery," he told her. "I think it was a gas station or something."

"How long is he in there for?"

"He won't be getting out anytime soon. The attendant that was working there was shot in the middle of the hold up."

"There's so much that we need to learn about him," Kirsten sighed.

"It'll be all right. We have all the time in the world." Sandy assured her.

* * *

Seth and Ryan returned a little while later with their arms weighed down with grocery bags.

"You got all this with just the money that I gave you?" Sandy started unloading it all.

"We found an Aldi's," Ryan told them. "It's a discount store. It has all the same things that the franchise store has. It's just not name brand."

"Great find kid," Sandy told him.

"We also passed a Dollar Tree," Seth told them. "Ryan said that almost everything in the store is a dollar."

"We'll check out the rest of the town in a few days." Kirsten told them.

"Can we order pizza yet?" Seth asked.

"Go ahead," Sandy handed him a takeout menu. "One of my colleagues gave me that. He said that we'd probably live off that place the first week that we're here."

"Let's hope not," Kirsten stated. "I am determined to learn how to cook."

"Oh god," Seth mumbled. "I'm putting this number on speed dial."

"Very funny," Kirsten turned to Sandy. "Ryan decided that he wants to teach me how to cook."

"We told him that wasn't necessary." Sandy told her.

"It was my idea. Besides, it's a way for us to bond a little more."

"Maybe I should find something for us to bond over." Sandy watched Ryan put the bag of snacks on the counter by the sink.

* * *

Ryan collapsed on his bed after getting ready to turn in for the night. This was the first time in a long time that he could remember going to bed before ten o'clock, but he was so exhausted. They just decided to put the beds together so that they all had a place to sleep on that night, and just start on everything else in the morning.

Ryan got under the covers and looked around his new room. He liked their new house; it wasn't a mansion like the Cohen's house in Newport, but he thought it was the perfect house for the four of them. When you walked in the front door you were standing in the foyer, where Kirsten said she wanted to put the formal dinner table. To the right was the family room, to the left was the kitchen, and set back a little ways was the staircase.

Through the back of the kitchen was a sliding screen door that led to a big backyard. There was also a small room off the kitchen that Kirsten told them was the laundry room. Upstairs were four bedrooms; the master bedroom, two bedrooms for Ryan and Seth, and a guest room.

Most of the appliances were provided for them; there was a stove, refrigerator/freezer, dishwasher, and a garbage disposal in the sink. Seth was happy that there was an ice dispenser in the freezer door. The only things they needed to get was the washer and dryer, which Kirsten said they would go shopping in a few days.

Ryan could definitely see himself settling in here with his new family. He slowly drifted off to sleep, thinking about all the new memories the four of them would make in this house.

* * *

**AN: **So what'd you all think of this latest chapter? I hope you liked it. PLZ R&R!


	9. Chapter 8: Getting Settled

**AN: **I'm so sorry it took me so long to update this, but things have been so crazy busy and I had a slight case of writer's block. And the fact that Netflix is evil! I got so engrossed in one of the TV shows on there that I didn't feel like doing much of anything. Anyway, sorry for rambling, onto the story! PLZ R&R!

**Disclaimer: **See first chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 8: Getting Settled**

Ryan slowly awoke and looked around his new room. They all went to bed early the night before. After they ordered pizza, they put Seth and Ryan's beds together so they could actually have a place to sleep. After they finished eating, they unpacked a few things but went off to bed before ten o'clock.

Ryan stumbled into the bathroom and then downstairs. He walked into the kitchen and spotted a bunch of appliances set out on the counters.

"Hey, how'd you sleep?" she smiled at him.

"All right," Ryan scanned the appliances. "I-Is there coffee?"

"I haven't been able to locate the coffee maker yet," she told him. "I sent Sandy to get some coffee and bagels. He should be back soon."

"I need coffee!" Seth announced as he came into the kitchen as well.

"I'm here," the front door opened and Sandy came in with four coffees, a bag of bagels and cream cheese and that days' newspaper.

"Finally," Seth grabbed a coffee from the Styrofoam carrier.

"You've been up for less than a minute." Ryan looked at him as he grabbed a bagel.

"I need my coffee in the morning," Seth told him as they all sat around the kitchen island.

"You two only have one job today," Sandy told them. "And that is to unpack and organize your rooms. We'll go shopping in a couple days for some things to add to them."

After they all finished their breakfast, Seth and Ryan headed upstairs to unpack their rooms, Sandy went to organize the small room off the family room that they decided would be the home office, and Kirsten decided to try to organize the kitchen.

It didn't take Ryan long to unpack since he didn't come with much, and there wasn't much to organize. He walked downstairs with a boxed labeled 'kitchen' that got mixed up with his things by mistake. He walked into the kitchen and spotted Kirsten putting a box of plates into one of the cupboards.

"All done?" she looked back at him.

"I didn't come with much." He shrugged.

"Well, I still haven't found the coffee maker," she sighed. "It probably got lost in the move, or we left it behind."

"I think I may have found it," Ryan put the box on the counter. "This got mixed in with my things."

"You found it," Kirsten smiled as she opened the box. "And the bagel slicer. Two very important appliances in this family."

"Do you need any help?" Ryan looked around at all the boxes.

"Sure," she pointed to a nearby box. "That should be the glasses. They go in the cupboard above."

"Got it," Ryan opened the box.

"You need to put down contact paper first," Ryan nodded as Seth came downstairs.

"There is no way that you're done unpacking already."

"What, I'm not allowed to take a break and get a drink?" he asked.

"Make it quick, then get back to work."

"How come Ryan gets to help you?"

"I'm done unpacking my stuff." Ryan looked at him. "I didn't come with much, remember?"

"And he's actually helping," Kirsten cut in.

"I get it," Seth grumbled as he left the room with a bottle of ice tea.

"Sorry about that," Kirsten looked at Ryan as he smoothed down the contact paper before placing the glasses in the cupboard.

"It's all right."

"Seth is not really one for manual labor."

"So I've noticed," Ryan mumbled as the door bell rang. "I'll get it."

Ryan hopped off the chair he was standing on and walked into the foyer as Sandy came out of the family room. Ryan opened the front door and saw a FedEx guy holding a flat package.

"Is this the Cohen residence?" they guy asked.

"I'm Sandy Cohen."

"Sign here, please." Sandy scribbled his name across the clipboard and the guy handed him the package.

"Thank you," Sandy took the package and opened it as he went into the kitchen.

"Who was at the door?" Kirsten looked back at them.

"FedEx guy," Sandy told her as he pulled out the contents. "It's from your mom."

"What is it?" she came over to them.

"You may not like this."

"What is it?"

"Reloadable charge cards for each of us," he told her. "And your mother gets to control the reloading."

"I told her that we're doing this by ourselves."

"Wait, there's a note." Sandy opened it. "These are for the boys to get whatever they want for their rooms, and for me and you to get whatever we want to fix up the house and back yard."

"It's generous of her, but-"

"Her reasoning is that we're not nearby for her to spoil, so she has to do it from a distance. It's free money she says."

"Free money?" Seth came downstairs. "What's going on?"

"Your grandmother is spoiling all of us from a distance."

"She gave us charge cards?" Seth took the one with his name on it.

"Yes, but we get to control when you can use it." Kirsten took it back.

"Unfair,"

"Maybe this will entice you to finish unpacking, because until all those boxes in your room are empty and your room is organized, you don't get this card."

"Hey!"

"So…does that mean I can have mine?" Ryan ventured.

"Absolutely," Sandy handed his card to him.

"Seriously unfair." Seth stated.

"Then I guess you should go and unpack." Sandy told him and he stomped out of the room and upstairs. "I think I enjoyed that too much."

"Just a little," Ryan told him as he went back to organizing the kitchen.

"This is just too much," Kirsten commented. "She said she'd be sending care packages, but I didn't expect her to do this."

"Are you really that surprised?" Sandy looked at her. "She was worse than this when we lived in Newport."

"I know,"

"She just wants to help us out. There's nothing wrong with that. At least your mom won't expect us to pay her back."

"So when will you tell your mother that we've moved?" she looked at him. "I know you haven't told her yet."

"I'll tell her when we're all settled in, unless you would want to be surprised while we're in the middle of organizing."

"Tell her once we're all settled in." Kirsten agreed.

"I figured you might say that," he smiled at her.

"What's so wrong with your mother?" Ryan looked back at him.

"You'll see when she comes out here." Sandy told him.

"Where does she live?"

"The Bronx. That's where I grew up." The three of them continued to unpack the kitchen as Sandy told Ryan all about his family and his childhood.

* * *

Apparently dangling the charge card just out of Seth's reach had the intended effect, because he was unpacked and his room was organized within two days. So they all loaded into the rover and drove into town to the local mall.

They spent hours going from store to store finding things to use their charge cards on. Seth immediately headed for the electronics store and Kirsten had to stop him from trying to purchase a big screen TV.

"That is where we draw the line," she told him. "There isn't enough space in your bedroom for that."

"Fine," Seth grumbled. "Where's Ryan?"

"He went to the music store," Sandy came up to them.

"Good, I'll educate him on good music."

"Seth," Kirsten warned him. "If Ryan doesn't come back with music that he will listen to often, you will be very sorry."

Kirsten watched him walk out of the store and she shook her head at Sandy, who shrugged. He followed her to the where all the computers were as they asked about his recommendations.

"I hope Ryan's actually picking some things out," Sandy commented. "I think he feels guilty for taking anything from us."

"Yes, I've noticed that." Kirsten sighed. "I'll try to talk to him."

"It probably won't do any good," Sandy told her as they picked out computers for each of the boys, one for the home office, and one for family use that would go in the family room.

* * *

Later that night, Kirsten made her rounds checking on Seth and Ryan as she brought up some extra things that she had gotten for them at the mall. She knocked on Seth's door and cautiously opened the door.

"Seth?" she called.

"Yeah?" he sat up on the bed as she came into the room further.

"Just wanted to say good night," she smiled at him as she set some things down. "And I have a couple things that I got today."

"A hamper?" he looked at her as she placed it in the corner of the room.

"It's so you don't throw the dirty stuff on the floor," she told him as she placed some bins for organizing on the desk. "So I need to ask you something."

"Ok, what's up?" he watched her sit in front of him on the bed.

"Have you felt left out at all?"

"What?"

"Since Ryan joined this family, have you felt left out because your dad and I are constantly dealing with Ryan?"

"No," he shook his head.

"Are you sure?"

"Ryan needs the attention more." Seth told her. "I've grown up with the most suffocating attention from you, dad, and grandma. I'm sure Ryan grew up wanting attention like I got."

"If at any time you feel that we're giving him too much attention, you need to tell us ok?"

"Got it."

"I mean it. The four of us are a family now. We need much better communication than we had before we met Ryan."

"Mom, I promise." Seth told her.

"Good, now you need to get some sleep." She got up off the bed and walked out of the room.

Kirsten walked down the hall and knocked on Ryan's door as she heard some music playing. It stopped abruptly as the door opened and Ryan stood there in his sweats.

"Hey," she smiled at him. "I have some things for you."

"Ok, thanks." He let her in and she set some things down.

"I just wanted to check in with you," she told him as they sat on the bed.

"What do you mean?"

"Well a lot has happened since you came home with us. It's a lot for anyone to adjust to."

"I'm not sure if it's all sunk in yet." He told her.

"Well there's still a lot that's going to happen," she told him. "And I know you're not used to expressing yourself so easily, but you need to try to work on talking to us."

"I'll try." He told her, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"Well it's getting late." She stood up. "Try to get some sleep. We still have more to do tomorrow."

"Sure," he watched her leave the room, shutting the door behind him.

This family could be really pushy, Ryan thought as he climbed under the covers. Expressing himself verbally was not one of his strong points. He was used to staying in the shadows and watching from a distance. I guess he had to get used to this different way of life since this family was trying to convince him that he would be here for the long haul. He turned out the light on the night stand as he thought about the next day and how much more he had to try to get used to in his new life.

**AN: **So what'd you all think? I hope you all liked it. I'm going to try to work on it this week. PLZ R&R!


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